As a product of Serra High School in Gardena, Khalil Tate displayed a big smile when asked by reporters during the 2018 Pac-12 Football Media Day about LeBron James, who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA offseason.

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“It is great,” Tate said. “We had a three or four down years where we couldn’t get anything going at all. We are championship contenders now.”

While Tate looks forward to watching James on the basketball court for the Lakers, the former NBA MVP had already shared his thoughts on Tate following his breakout performance against Colorado in October.

“It was surprising,” Tate said about the comment. “It was LeBron James.”

Tate came off the bench and rushed for a 327 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries.

He had touchdown runs of 28, 47, 58 and 75 yard runs in the 45-42 victory.

Tate will enter his junior season as the starting quarterback for the Wildcats and will be considered a favorite for the Heisman Trophy.

“It’s great because it feels like everything I have worked for in the past is finally coming to fruition,” Tate said.

Kevin Sumlin was brought in after six seasons at Texas A&M to coach the Wildcats and could help Tate in his quest for the Heisman. During his tenure at Texas A&M, he coached Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.

“He is moving from being an athlete that is playing quarterback to being a quarterback that is an athlete,” Sumlin said of Tate. “When you are the backup quarterback its kind of a cool position because you have nothing to lose when you go in. You don’t get yanked you just go back to where you were.

“There is a little different pressure when you are a starter and it comes with the things that are expected of you, not just on the field but off the field and on the sideline. That growth is taking place. As great as his numbers are he is really a young player and hasn’t played a lot. There is still a lot of room for improvement for him and he understands that.”

Tate stated several times during his Pac-12 Media Day press conference that he has felt overlooked during his time at Serra High and uses that as motivation today.

“I was never invited to Elite 11, Army Game or none of that stuff,” he said. “Then you look at the roster of those games and those quarterbacks.You need to update that.”

James H. Williams joined the Southern California News Group in 2013 with a passion for sports, social media and journalism that has led to his role as a Digital Sports Producer. During his down time, he finds himself on social media providing scores and stats on local and professional sports. When he is out at a game, he can be found roaming the sidelines and the snack bar at halftime.